November 3, 2025
The 32-Hour Comment Cage Match
Tech workers' fight for living wages and a 32-hour workweek is a battle for all
Four days, full pay: brave new norm or wishful thinking? The comments are a war zone
TLDR: Kickstarter’s union is striking for a 32‑hour workweek with full pay and living wages, pitching it as a model for everyone. Commenters are split between skeptics, jokers pushing “16 hours,” and urgency about AI—arguing over whether this is bold progress or economic fantasy, with stakes beyond tech.
Kickstarter workers just went on strike, demanding a 32‑hour week with no pay cuts and livable wages. Their union, Kickstarter United (part of OPEIU, a white‑collar workers’ union), says a company that calls itself a “public benefit” business should prove it with time and pay—not just branding. Picket lines even popped up outside a top investor’s office. The message: four days on, three days off, same paycheck.
Online, the takes got spicy fast. One skeptic fired off the practical question: “Meaning you don’t do anything work related outside the 32 hours?” Others argued it can’t be a lone‑wolf tech move—“this needs to be a broader fight,” or there’ll be a snap‑back to 40. Then the jokesters arrived, escalating the numbers like a meme speedrun: “Why not 16h a week though?” followed by a deadpan “Why not a six hour work week,” dunking on the very idea that 32 is radical enough.
Meanwhile, futurists sounded the alarm: with AI on the rise, set humane hours now or regret it later. It’s a classic internet royal rumble—idealists vs. realists, spreadsheets vs. slogans—over whether four days at full pay is overdue justice or fantasy economics. Either way, this fight feels bigger than tech, and the comments know it.
Key Points
- •Kickstarter United (OPEIU Local 153) began a strike on Oct. 2 seeking a 32-hour workweek with no loss of pay and livable wages.
- •The union represents 59 Kickstarter workers across functions including support, marketing, research, trust and safety, and software development.
- •Kickstarter’s business model is a crowdfunding platform that takes a 5% fee on pledged funds.
- •Kickstarter is a public benefit corporation and a certified B Corporation, with stated aims to create public benefit and serve people and communities.
- •Striking workers picketed outside venture capitalist Fred Wilson’s Manhattan offices; he is described as a major investor in Kickstarter.